Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, QPR and Newcastle United are the talk of the papers today.
All the rumour, gossip, and news you need to know from the last 24 hours
With the Champions League final taking place on Saturday, Didier Drogba currently has a one-track mind. After that, he will turn to deciding his future. Chelsea are yet to commit to keeping him, and there are a number of interested clubs. He has been linked with moves to China and America, but his performance against Barcelona is reported to have convinced the Catalan club to attempt to lure him in, according to the Mail. Barcelona’s David Villa has been injured and the club has been criticised for a lack of a plan B, and bringing Drogba in on the cheap, although a short term deal would be tempting as it would allow them to spend their cash in other areas.
Confusion over the future of Yaya Toure is continuing. The Manchester City midfielder was quoted last week as saying he wanted a return to Barcelona, words which were said to have been taken out of context, but the rumours have resurfaced today. The Sun quote his agent as saying Toure has now ‘done all he can’ at City’ and would want a new challenge, with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich all mentioned. A stumbling block would be the fact City do not want or need to sell, and he would command a huge asking price.
Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero has played his last game and scored his last goal for Juventus, and is said to be eyeing a move to the Premier League. Manchester United have previously been linked, but three different clubs have been suggested as destinations in today’s Mail. The paper report that the 37-year-old is interesting Arsenal, Tottenham and QPR, who would dearly love a player of his status to come to Loftus Road. Whoever he ends up at will be fortunate to have him, this season he has proved he still has plenty to offer.
The Loic Remy to Tottenham deal is back on according to the Mirror, but they say it is dependent on Bayern Munich beating Chelsea. The Marseille striker is only said to be willing to come to White Hart Lane if Champions League football is on offer, and a Chelsea victory would take that away from Spurs. The striker is rated at around £20 million and was linked with the club both last summer and in January. The 25-year-old has bagged 18 goals this season in 37 starts and at 25 is ready for a new challenge in his career.
Lille right-back Mathieu Debuchy is at the centre of a transfer chase. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson attended a Lille game last month and rumour had it that he was in fact scouting the defender, rather than Eden Hazard, to solve what has been a problem position for United. The 26-year-old is also interesting Newcastle United, who raided the club for Yohan Cabaye last year, and are facing losing Danny Simpson after contract talks reportedly broke down.
image: © Ben Sutherland
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